Reform Party leader Nigel Farage investigated over failure to declare $7M gift

The UK Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has launched an inquiry into whether far-right party leader Nigel Farage broke Commons rules by failing to declare a £5 million (nearly $7 million) gift from billionaire Reform UK backer Christopher Harborne.

According to British media reports on Wednesday, the investigation follows a complaint from the Conservatives, who argued that Farage should have registered the payment after entering Parliament in 2024.

Farage has said he was under “no obligation” to declare the gift because it had been made before he became an MP. Reform sources say the payment was made in early 2024, before he had decided to stand for Parliament.

The Commons code of conduct states that new MPs “must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election.”

Labour chair Anna Turley said: “Nigel Farage has been avoiding legitimate questions since news of his billionaire backer's 'gift.' It's right that he faces a proper investigation.”

The Conservatives have also referred the matter to the Electoral Commission, which said it was considering the information.

Farage has said Harborne gave him the money to fund personal security, describing the payment as “purely private” and saying it “wasn't political in any sense at all.”

Christopher Harborne is a British billionaire businessman and cryptocurrency investor based in Thailand. He has become a central figure in British politics as the primary financial benefactor of Nigel Farage and his far-right Reform UK party.